Seattle Running Out Of Storage For Dead Bodies As Fentanyl Crisis Worsens

Hank BerrienJanuary 24, 2023

Seattle is experiencing a surge in fentanyl-related fatalities. The county has run out of space to store these bodies.

King County saw 31 deaths from fatal fentanyl overdoses in January, an average of more than one per day. Over two-thirds (23%) of fatal overdoses in King County were caused by fentanyl last year. The county’s highest-ever number of fatal overdoses was 1,019 recordedKTTH noted.

“The Medical Examiner’s Office is now struggling with the issue of storing bodies because the fentanyl-related death toll continues to climb. Obviously, they have finite space in the coolers they use, and that space is now being exceeded on a regular basis,’” Recently, Dr. Faisal Khan, Seattle-King County Public Health Director, admitted to it. He also stated that “The biggest driver of these fatal overdoses involves fentanyl in white powder and in fake pills, which are flooding the streets.”

The Washington Supreme Court will become the Washington Supreme Court in 2021 overturned The felony drug possession law, which ruled that it was unconstitutional to outlaw personal possession of drugs.

“Statewide prosecutors’ offices were pretty shocked,” Cami Lewis, senior deputy prosecuting attorney for the Kitsap County prosecutor’s office, recalled. “We had 40 years of precedent where the statute had been fine. … Law enforcement were relying on it, prosecutors were relying on it, courts were relying on it, and the Supreme Court relied on it. It was pretty shocking for them just to overturn it.”

“We have options for temporary morgue surge capacity when our census count gets high, including storing decedents on autopsy gurneys and partnerships with funeral homes,” a Public Health spokesperson told KTTH’s Jason Rantz. “We’re exploring longer-term options for adding more capacity.”

Drug Enforcement Administration acknowledged It had taken over 50,000,000 fentanyl pills and nearly 11,000 pounds of powder in 2022. “These fentanyl seizures represent more than 379 million deadly doses, the DEA stated, adding, “The DEA Laboratory has found that, of the fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills analyzed in 2022, six out of ten now contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl.”

“Many fake pills are made to look like prescription opioids such as oxycodone (Oxycontin®, Percocet®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), and alprazolam (Xanax®); or stimulants like amphetamines (Adderall®),” The DEA warned. “Never trust your own eyes to determine if a pill is legitimate. The only safe medications are ones prescribed by a trusted medical professional and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist.”